Week 16

It's fair season! The Common Ground Fair had great weather and huge crowds.  There is so much to take in at the fair, and it is such a privilege to have as many inspirational people and organizations all together for a weekend. Each year we attend we get a little more realistic about our plans to "do and see everything", and paradoxically it seems that the less I do at the fair, the better my experience. The first year I came to the fair I ran from one tent to another, and I came home with my bags stuffed with pamphlets, catalogues, newspapers, books... This year, I am happy to report that I spent a little time on the lawn, I chased Flora around the children's area, and I helped out a little at a few booths. No shopping, no workshops, no exhaustion! 

We'll also go to the Cumberland Fair which runs all week. If you miss it, you can catch Maine's finale: the Fryburg fair the next week.  Although these county and town fairs are in sharp contrast to MOFGA's event, they are "traditional" in their own right. They feature 4-H programs (kids like Emma showing her sheep Goldie), horse racing, and lots of rides! (Don't forget the agriculture when you make the bee-line to the Midway Carnival rides!)

The CSA's last harvest will be the week of Columbus day, October 14th (Tuesday) and October 17th (Friday).  That will make it 19 weeks of distributions, and the diversity of crops will have begun to dwindle to storage crops.  

This weeks Harvest:

Lettuce

Kale

Cabbage

Spaghetti Squash

Diakon Radish

Tomatillos

Sun Gold cherry tomatoes

Carrots

Cauliflower

Potatoes

Leeks

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Hot peppers...

and a few other items that we have salvaged from the FROST.

Spaghetti Squash is a winter squash which has a moist fibrous interior that can easily be loosened from the cooked fruit and served with pasta sauce or butter, salt, and pepper. Delicious!

Diakon Radish is a fall radish (as opposed to the spring or summer radishes of earlier in the season). It is very popular in Asian cuisine and most famous as an ingredient of Kimchi fermented pickles. (there are a million Internet recipes... since I have not followed any of them, I'll leave the research to you-- and then you can share it with us!)

Kale is  a fall treat once the frost has visited. It gets sweeter as it gets colder, as do a few other items including Carrots, and the Radish.

Thanks for the help at our Potato Dig!!! 

We dug most of our potatoes and enjoyed lots of great potluck food. We will have another gathering Saturday, October 18th 1-3 ... a garden clean-up work party!

The last of 3 trial run farmer's markets in Scarborough will take place this Sunday from 8am-1pm behind Town Hall in the High School parking lot. Please come and show your support for a future Farmers Market for our town. We have tentative plans to participate next season. We planted some extra crops, especially for this last market. Also, we will be trialing a winter Farmers Market inside the High School. These new markets increase the likelihood that other farms will start up in Scarborough or neighboring towns, and that the few active farms (like us!) will continue to be viable. 

Blessings on the Meal

---John and Stacy